Altered Strings
by MTkurbs4xx
Summary: How far would you go for love? Would you sacrifice your own soulmate for your best friend's happiness?
1. Chapter 1

[Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara]

Silence fills the apartment as two friends sit side by side on a well worn brown couch. One, a small blonde, is lost in thought while the other, a tall blue haired man, waits patiently for her to form her thoughts into words. "Ikuto," the blonde finally says, her voice barely above a whisper, "I have something to tell you." The words hang ominously in the air between them and silence returns to the small space. Ikuto, one who usually enjoys the quiet, doesn't like it.

"What's wrong?" he asks her in concern, his deep voice filling the room. The girl says nothing. Instead, she begins to gnaw gently on her lower lip, eyes going glassy once more as she retreats back into the recesses of her mind. Her words have caught his attention now, and he does not let her drift away like before. "Rima," he says sternly, nudging her shoulder with his arm to snap her out of her reverie, "what do you have to tell me?" She doesn't respond. "It has to be important if you told me to come to your apartment right away," he presses. Rima still doesn't answer him. Instead, she stubbornly purses her lips together in a thin line. Ikuto sighs. He was in no mood to play games. Standing up, he turns to her."If you're not going to say anything, then I'm leaving." He turns away from the defiant blonde sitting mutely on the couch and takes a step towards the door only to be stopped by a rough tug as Rima grabs a fistfull of his shirttail and yanks him back.

Sitting down next to her once more, the slightly impatient man turns to face her with another sigh. "Stop thinking so much and just spit it out," he orders.

After a few more moments of silent debate, the blonde opens her mouth and lets the dreaded words she's scared to say tumble out. "Amu wants me to alter her and Eggplant Head's Red Strings of Fate."


	2. Chapter 2

Ikuto stares at her in wide-eyed disbelief. He knew the blonde was one of the rare few who could see the strings, but he never knew she had the ability to cut the red thread and alter a person's soulmate. He blinks. Something wasn't adding up. What did Amu cutting her Red String of Fate and tying it with Nagihiko's have anything to do with him? Ikuto looks at Rima, a silent question filling his gaze. She meets his blue orbs with her own brown ones and turns away, leaving his silent question unanswered. With a sigh, the male begins to put the pieces together.

Amu and Nagihiko were getting married tomorrow despite knowing full well that they were not soulmates. Fine. Everyone in their friend group knew about the wedding. It was common knowledge. It seemed that only he and Rima were aware of the fact that the couple was not who the universe wanted to be together for all eternity. He reviews the wedding plan in his head. Yaya would be a flower girl instead of a bridesmaid and Kairi would be the flower boy, though not willingly. The man only took the role to keep an eye on his girlfriend and make sure she didn't have a chance to switch the petals with a colorful hard candy like Smarties. Utau and Rima would be the bridesmaids and him and Kukai the groomsmen. Ami would be the maid-of-honor. Ikuto frowns. These thoughts were getting him nowhere. Rima called, telling him that he needed to come over ASAP, and he did. His frown deepens. There was something he wanted confirmed. "Did you tell anyone else about this situation?" he asks her.

"No."

"So I'm the only one who knows." he says slowly, pieces starting to click together.

"Yes," confirms the small blonde.

Ikuto nods absentmindedly, unfocused eyes staring at the hardwood floor. A forearm rests on one knee, slender digits twitching every so often as if playing an invisible tune while his elbow props itself up on the other and uses it as a makeshift platform as his hand supports his tilted head.

Amu was getting married to Nagihiko tomorrow.

They were madly in love with each other.

The couple wants Rima to cut their strings and tie the ends together so that they are severed from their original soulmates and become each other's new soulmates.

As soon as Rima learned of this request and arranged it, she called him. The talk concerned Amu and her choice of severing herself from her soulmate in this life.

Wait.

Why would it matter to him if Amu wanted to cut her string from her original significant other? Why would he be such a big factor in all of this to Rima? The blond had no reason to call and tell him about the pinkette's decision unless…

Amu was his soulmate.

He was the one she was going to cut ties with.

Ikuto's head snaps up and his eyes come back into focus, both hands hanging limply between his legs as the realization hits him. He looks at Rima with narrowed eyes. "No." he says in disbelief. "It can't be."

Rima squirms uncomfortably in her seat, guilty brown orbs looking at everything but him. Her actions confirm his suspicions.

"No." he says again, this time growled through gritted teeth.

Rima still doesn't meet his glare. Fiddling with the hem of her knee length plaid skirt, she stubbornly stares at her lap as if concentrating on the craftsmanship of her clothing will change the way he angrily stares down at her. She gives a helpless shrug and whispers to him in the deafening silence, "I thought you deserved to know."

Ikuto stands up abruptly, causing the small blonde beside him to flinch. Walking stiffly to the door, he mutters over his shoulder, "I need some air," before twistig the knob and throwing it wide open. Slipping through the entrance, he lets the heavy wood swing shut with a loud slam. This time she doesn't try to stop him.


End file.
